Morality and Markets, first in the two-part series, The Real Adam Smith: A Personal Exploration by Johan Norberg, takes a close look at Adam Smith, who lived in an 18th century world of sailing ships and horse-drawn carriages. Trade in his day was limited and riddled with corruption, yet Smith imagined and wrote about a lively global trade among ethical businesses that would revolutionize the world's marketplaces. Smith was a moral philosopher, a bold voice of the Scottish Enlightenment and the world's first economist. He recorded his revolutionary ideas in two remarkable books: The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. Those ideas changed the world. Today's markets have grown to a massive scope of international trade that would have been unimaginable even a few decades ago. In this seemingly ruthless competitive environment, where the stakes are high, can ethical and honest businesses still prosper? How does globalization benefit anyone and how are Smith's ideas about markets and morality nearly 240 years ago relevant today? Noted author, economic analyst, and Cato Institute Senior Fellow Johan Norberg takes a closer look at the man who would upend the notion of how societies and economics work, and make way for the modern age. Highlights of Norberg's travels throughout Europe, exploring Smith's life, times and revolutionary ideas, include: Visits to Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, where Smith was born, educated and spent his life teaching, writing and advocating his revolutionary ideas on markets and human morality. To London and Paris, where Smith's ideas influenced other important thinkers and statesmen of his time. At the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, Smith's loathing for the corruption and cronyism that was the East India Company is explored. Morality and Markets explores Adam Smith's 18th century worldview of ethics and honesty in business.
